I'm late on the Day 5 post. I had some last minute things to get done yesterday to prepare for a massive winter storm that moved in late last night and is expected to continue throughout the day today.
All week, meteorologists have been predicting that we would see up to 16 inches of snow (we are sitting at 13-14 inches now with several more hours of snow ahead of us), plus sleet and freezing rain. The snow and sleet aren't a problem. The freezing rain could be. Many people that we know that are in our county and surrounding counties have lost electricity already. I hope ours doesn't go out. This would be a nightmare for the incubator. I've got a plan just in case, but let's pray it doesn't have to be put into action.
My plan if the power goes out is to put a pot of water on the wood stove. I'll put some rocks into the pot and boil them to get them warm and then put the rocks into the incubator to produce heat. I can also wrap the incubator in blankets, leaving space for air to move into the incubator since eggs need oxygen. It will take a significant amount of work to keep the temperature steady using this method, but it's worth it to keep the chicks comfortable. I've been very spoiled so far with the amount of work that the eggs have required and I'm realizing that now with the thought of having to do so much if our electricity goes out.
The incubator is still stable and, so far, there's not been any issues. I candled a couple of eggs yesterday (on Day 5), but I will probably do another candling of all the eggs tomorrow. I'm over-doing it, I know, but I enjoy watching them develop and the boys love seeing them too so it's a really fun, exciting thing for all of us. And it helps me to know which ones are doing well and which ones to keep an eye on in case they need to be removed.
Below are pictures of what the embryos should look like on Days 5 and 6. They look a lot more like living things now. It's amazing how they went from a blob of veins to this in just a couple of days, and that in just a couple of weeks they will be fully developed and ready to meet the world! They are still very small and fragile inside the shelter of the egg, but with any amount of luck, they will continue to do well and hatch out as sweet little chicks in just a couple of weeks.
All week, meteorologists have been predicting that we would see up to 16 inches of snow (we are sitting at 13-14 inches now with several more hours of snow ahead of us), plus sleet and freezing rain. The snow and sleet aren't a problem. The freezing rain could be. Many people that we know that are in our county and surrounding counties have lost electricity already. I hope ours doesn't go out. This would be a nightmare for the incubator. I've got a plan just in case, but let's pray it doesn't have to be put into action.
My plan if the power goes out is to put a pot of water on the wood stove. I'll put some rocks into the pot and boil them to get them warm and then put the rocks into the incubator to produce heat. I can also wrap the incubator in blankets, leaving space for air to move into the incubator since eggs need oxygen. It will take a significant amount of work to keep the temperature steady using this method, but it's worth it to keep the chicks comfortable. I've been very spoiled so far with the amount of work that the eggs have required and I'm realizing that now with the thought of having to do so much if our electricity goes out.
The incubator is still stable and, so far, there's not been any issues. I candled a couple of eggs yesterday (on Day 5), but I will probably do another candling of all the eggs tomorrow. I'm over-doing it, I know, but I enjoy watching them develop and the boys love seeing them too so it's a really fun, exciting thing for all of us. And it helps me to know which ones are doing well and which ones to keep an eye on in case they need to be removed.
Below are pictures of what the embryos should look like on Days 5 and 6. They look a lot more like living things now. It's amazing how they went from a blob of veins to this in just a couple of days, and that in just a couple of weeks they will be fully developed and ready to meet the world! They are still very small and fragile inside the shelter of the egg, but with any amount of luck, they will continue to do well and hatch out as sweet little chicks in just a couple of weeks.
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Chick development on Day 5
(Image credit Learning Resources Chick Life Cycle Exploration Set)
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Chick development on Day 6
(Image credit Learning Resources Chick Life Cycle Exploration Set)
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